<p>Hey I, am going to be a junior and I plan on taking AP Bio and AP Eng Lang with some other, easy classes next year. I will also self-study AP Stats, AP Env, and AP Psych. From observations, and from what people that have taken the class say (including my sister), the AP Bio at my school really doesn't help with the exam at all, and only the Barrons/PR etc. review books are what got people 5s on the exam. The AP teacher supposedly teaches anything to fill up time, and most people that get A's (and some get B's - C's) by studying/filling out notes 3-5 hours a day. Mathematically speaking, I feel that taking the class is a waste of time, as I could spend that time to read through Psych, Stats, Env, and Bio better, and do better on the exams (hoping for all 5s). Also I would like to keep my 4.0 UW GPA. My question is: Do those uber-competitive colleges value a person taking an AP Bio class and getting a 5 more than a person self-studying the class and getting a 5? And is the difference in value worth spending that 3-5 hours a day which could be spent studying for SAT, and my other AP classes? What would you do?</p>
<p>Self-Studying. I CANNOT stress that enough. I was stuck in that class doing 1 inch binders full of work every 2-3 weeks and not given any amount of time to actually study the material. Kids in that class were left with 1/2 options: Study independently and disregard the teacher’s “binders” and evidently receive a C-F [depending on tests] but score high on the exam OR complete the binders with a A-B but fail the exam. Self-Study! The labs are easy to self-study for as there are few questions about it on the exam and are simple factual questions about them. There are always virtual labs [we did them] if you want to actually do them, but the concepts behind them are important.</p>
<p>EDIT: As for actually reading the description now, I was put in the same situation as the AP Biology teacher at your school.</p>
<p>I agree , I took AP Bio at my school and it was a total joke. I had to self-teach myself multiple chapters, because my teacher did not get to them before the exam. I definitely encourage you to just do it on your own, there are many resources out there to help you.</p>
<p>Self- studying AP Bio is SUCH a time-saver. If you’re good with memorizing things, I strongly recommend you do. Hands-on lab work isn’t completely necessary since they’re pretty basic. I can’t take AP classes until senior year, and wanted at least one lab science AP on my app. Bio was definitely the way to go.
Good luck!!</p>